Question

The disease erythroblastosis foetalis of a human baby is due to
A)Incompatibility of blood groups of the couple
B)Incompatibility of blood groups of embryo and mother
C) Maladjustment of Rh factor
D) all of the above

Answer 1

Hint: It is inherited through genes and found on the surface of red blood cells. Many people may carry these inherited proteins on Red blood cells. These types of blood groups vary across ethnic groups and geographic regions. It occurs when the mother and the mother carry a different blood type.

Complete answer:
-Rh antigen is similar to the one which is present in the rhesus monkey.it is also observed on the surface of red blood cells among 80% of the population of humans.
-Person having a rich protein on the RBC is called Rh-positive and the person in which Rh protein is absent on the surface of red blood cells is called RH negative against Rh antigen.
-If an Rh-negative person is exposed to Rh-positive person's blood it will form specific antibodies against Rh antigen because of this before transfusion of blood, the Rh group should be matched between two persons.
-A specific case of Rh mismatching incompatibility between RH negative blood of a pregnant mother with RH positive blood of a fetus is observed.
-In the first pregnancy RH antigen of the fetus will not get exposed to the RH negative blood of the mother as blood is well separated by the placenta.
-But after the first child, there is a maximum possibility of exposure of maternal blood to the small amount of RH positive blood from the fetus.
-In such cases, antibodies against RH antigen will start preparing my mother in her blood so in subsequent pregnancies the RH antibodies from the mother (Rh-ve) can leak into the blood of the fetus (Rh+ve) and destroy the fetal RBC.
-These cause severe anemia and jaundice to the baby and also cause serious fatal to the fetus. This condition is called erythroblastosis foetalis.

Additional Information:
Symptoms of erythroblastosis fetalis include
-an enlargement of the liver spleen on the heart.
-yellow amniotic fluid with the traces of bilirubin.
-accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, lungs, or scalp.
-pale skin of a baby.
So, the correct answer is, "Maladjustment of Rh factor".

Note: Hemolysis of red blood cells will be rapid in a fetus. Thus the fetus will not receive oxygen which leads to anemia and other illness or even death.
-One of the rarest blood types in the world is RH null also referred to as golden blood.